For several years, Evie Wyld combined writing fiction with running an independent bookshop - Review, in Peckham, South London.“It seems like the perfect marriage, doesn’t it?” Evie says of the dual role of writer-bookseller, “but sadly you don

Tessa Hadley in Redland Library, Bristol

Mar 17th, 2020 52m 27s

“It’s strange and haunting to be back here after a very, very long time,” says Tessa Hadley of heading inside seminal childhood destination, Redland Library. " I can still remember the feeling of entering the new book, the first page like a thr

Gyles Brandreth in Barnes Bookshop

Mar 10th, 2020 57m 36s

Gyles Brandreth has been entertaining Brits for decades - charming multiple generations on shows such as Just A Minute, The One Show, Celebrity Gogglebox and Countdown. His many books include a series of novels featuring his fellow wit Oscar W

Candice Carty-Williams in Lewisham Library

Mar 3rd, 2020 46m 22s

Candice Carty-Williams is a trailblazer.That trail, in many respects, started at Lewisham Library in South London. This big, cornerstone library provided Candice a ‘safe place’ during her childhood. Passing by the library at night, she’d gaze

Val McDermid in Topping & Co, St Andrews

Jan 14th, 2020 47m 28s

Val McDermid was so young when she first visited her local library in Fife that she couldn’t even say the word, calling it the ‘labrador’ (after her family’s pet).Kirkcaldy Library rapidly became, though, a home-from-home. Soon enough, young V

Bobby Seagull in East Ham Library

Dec 24th, 2019 52m 28s

As a child, Bobby Seagull would be taken to his local library in East Ham, London, every Saturday afternoon. Without fail. He would get lost in the books there for hours on end, cross-legged on the floor.These trips would prove life-changing.

Benjamin Zephaniah in Newham Bookshop

Dec 17th, 2019 59m 56s

Benjamin Zephaniah speaks truth-to-power like nobody else. A Kung Fu stylist, dub musician, Peaky Blinder, renegade activist, vegan force-of-nature, and much-loved ‘people’s poet’, Benjamin has lived many lifetimes.He tells Ex Libris in inimi

Rachel Seiffert in The Wiener Holocaust Library

Dec 10th, 2019 58m 27s

The library featured in this episode of Ex Libris is truly inspirational and remarkable. It is a shrine, a beacon, a memorial. Sacred ground, no less.Moreover, the conversation that takes place there - with acclaimed novelist Rachel Seiffert -

Melvyn Bragg in Wigton Library

Dec 3rd, 2019 1h 1m

Melvyn Bragg is what people in Britain sometimes call a ‘national treasure’.The man is prodigious.Notably for this bookish show, he has written several award-winning novels and works of non-fiction. In this episode, Melvyn discusses with Ben

Bart Van Es in Summertown Library

Nov 26th, 2019 47m 25s

Bart Van Es won the 2019 Costa Prize for Book of the Year for his masterful memoir The Cut Out Girl.Announcing the judges’ decision, the Costa chair, the BBC presenter Sophie Raworth said: “It’s a very important book. It’s a story that would n

Imtiaz Dharker in Shakespeare and Company, Paris

Nov 19th, 2019 1h 4m

Imtiaz Dharker, winner of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, selected the iconic Parisian bookshop, Shakespeare and Company. In this episode of Ex Libris, released to coincide with the store’s centenary, Imtiaz and Ben are joined by the famed s

Jacqueline Wilson in Roehampton Library

Nov 13th, 2019 42m 4s

Jacqueline Wilson wrote her first ‘novel’ when she was nine, filling in countless Woolworths exercise books with scribblings.Today, with over 100 books to her name and over 40 million copies of them sold, Jacqueline has gone on to fire young i

Ken Follett in Canton Library, Cardiff

Oct 31st, 2019 1h 3m

For this first ever episode of Ex Libris, host Ben Holden met up with one of the most formidable storytellers of our age.More than 160 million copies of Ken Follett’s books have been sold to date worldwide.Ben spoke with Ken and Rhian Jones,

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